Stories in the digital age

Anyone who knows me, knows stories are important to me. In fact, they’re important to everyone. Stories are a large part of who we are. They are the insight into our past, present and future as individuals and as humans; and in a world filled with divide, stories bring us together.

“We're all made of stories. When they finally put us underground, the stories are what will go on. Not forever, perhaps, but for a time. It's a kind of immortality, I suppose, bounded by limits, it's true, but then so's everything.” ― Charles de Lint

Deep rooted history and childhood memories are imprinted on the pages of the traditional books and scriptures we were read by our parents, grandparents, and caregivers. Like so many others, as a child, I would curl up on the couch and become lost in stories. Till this day, I so vividly remember sitting at the kitchen table with my grandfather reading the newspaper, discussing books we found interesting, or making up our own stories during the holidays.

But now, while continuing to shift into the digital age, our reading experience is quickly changing. As we grow older, we find less time to curl up on the couch with a good book, and instead, enjoy the ease of consuming content on our devices. Children born in the last few years come into a world of the latest gadgets; picking up a tablet to read is almost natural.

Teenagers today sit around in a circle with their eyes attached their device screens, often digitally communicating with the person who is sitting right next to them. Despite the older generations opposition to it, it’s the norm. If I may play devil's advocate though, I’d point out that they too were at the table or around the fire with their newspapers, consumed by the stories or latest news they were reading. And really, what’s the difference?

While technology and the way we consume content is changing, the fascination for and the magic of great stories remains. Still, we try to force the old concept of a book into the digital age, without seeing that it’s the traditional book as the container for a story which needs the reinventing – and more importantly, the reading experience that comes with it.

Humans are naturally storytellers and the ability to share them should always be as easy and advanced as it can be, and as exciting as they have always have been. When I joined Liberio, a platform for eBook creation and publishing, as co-founder alongside Founder, Nicolas Zimmer, I knew we were going to do just that.

"Stories are powerful. They are cause for revolution and reconciliation." ― Jenny Herald

We knew that in order for the reading experience to be great, we needed to provide the creator with the means to do just that—easily create. But until Liberio, there was no product that enabled every individual to create an eBook in the most simple, easy and beautiful way possible. Previously, you were stuck using multiple and often difficult tools in order to do so. The process was convoluted to say the very least.

You see, the publishing market is primarily made up of products for professionals, which completely eliminates the chance for the average individual or author to go far on their own without help. Realistically, that needed to change.

Self-publishing and eBook creation is no longer a niche trend. And because of that, one thing we heavily press is our goal to do for eBooks what the App Store did for software — enable everyone to create, publish and share their ideas, stories and knowledge. And I’m pretty proud to say that now you can. Liberio is for everyone, from self-publishing authors and parents, to small publishers who who want to easily integrate digital products into their portfolio. We have authors, teachers, students, chefs, doctors, parents, designers and scientists all using Liberio.

In the end, the one thing we all have in common is our stories — each a key to our past, present and future. We’re striving to make sure people from all walks of life can share them — from the biggest to the smallest voices. And we want those stories reaching and being read on as many devices possible around the world. I personally can’t wait to read an eBook from a (now) child that will become the scientist who cures the most fatal disease, the athlete who overcame the unthinkable, equality worldwide and the peace that finally washed over the world.

Now I don’t know about you, but I’d say those are stories that need to be heard. And with the technology possible today, it’s pretty wise to make sure they have the means to do easily do so. After all, it’s usually the smallest voices that speak the loudest volumes.

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Cat Noone

Founder @irisapp, Designer, writing Preggers Guide, lover of cookies, and a Cool Mom in Tech. I write about design, building products, startups and stuff.